Francesco Biondo at Art Shopping Paris 2026
The Wound, the Knot, the Promise
23–25 October 2026 Carrousel du Louvre, Paris Art Boxy space
From 23 to 25 October 2026, Francesco Biondo will take part in the 38th autumn edition of Art Shopping Paris, the international contemporary art fair held at the Carrousel du Louvre, presenting a selection of works devoted to the history and tragedy of Gaza in the Art Boxy space.
The Wound, the Knot, the Promise is the title that brings this body of work together. Here, painting becomes a means of questioning memory, political responsibility and the consequences of human decisions. Matter preserves the marks of history, transforming places, events and unresolved tensions into images that resist indifference.
In Black Scar – Gaza Torn Apart, Suspended Between a Closed Sea and the Desert, dark pitch cuts across the surface like a wound inflicted on the land itself. Gaza emerges, caught between devastation and the denial of access to the sea. At the margins, a small Palestinian flag maintains a fragile yet stubborn presence: the sign of an identity that refuses to be erased.
With The Day of Shame – The Age of Shame, violence takes the form of a political and legal decision. A noose made of rope and iron weighs upon the surface, evoking the death penalty by hanging provided for under Israeli law for certain Palestinian detainees. The knot becomes a symbol of justice bent towards discrimination. Here, too, the Palestinian flag interrupts the composition, opposing the threat of erasure with a presence that demands recognition.
The journey concludes with the diptych Even the Strips of Gaza Go to Heaven (1 and 2), created in 2015, well before the devastation of recent years. The work looks back to the Oslo Accords and the promise of peace that was meant to open a new future for the Middle East. The two panels evoke the tension between an imagined future and a reality marked by divisions and unresolved conflicts. Viewed in the light of subsequent events, the diptych reveals how that promise was already at risk of breaking apart.
Three works, three moments in a history that continues to question the present. The map becomes a body, the body becomes a wound, the wound becomes a knot. In Francesco Biondo's practice, matter does not simply illustrate events: it holds their traces, making visible what time, politics and habit risk consigning to oblivion.
Through his participation in Art Shopping Paris, Francesco Biondo brings a reflection on Gaza to one of the international contemporary art scene's major events. This reflection extends beyond geographical boundaries, addressing the collective conscience. For a broken promise does not belong to the past alone: it continues to weigh upon the present and to challenge the future.
EVENT INFORMATION
Art Shopping Paris – 38th Autumn Edition
- Dates: 23–25 October 2026
- Venue: Carrousel du Louvre – Les Salles du Carrousel
- Address: 99 rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris, France
- Exhibiting space: Art Boxy
Opening hours
- Friday 23 October: 8 pm–11 pm, private view by invitation only.
- Saturday 24 October: 11 am–8 pm, open to the public.
- Sunday 25 October: 11 am–7 pm, open to the public. Last admission at 6:30 pm.
Admission: free for visitors, subject to registration and downloading an invitation from the official website.
Getting there
- Metro: lines 1 and 7, Palais-Royal – Musée du Louvre station.
- Bus: lines 21, 27, 39, 48, 67, 68, 69, 72, 81 and 95, with stops near the Louvre.
Official website and invitation: https://salon-artshopping-expo.com/
Event information: https://www.sortiraparis.com/arts-culture/exposition/articles/53275-art-shopping-2026-l-edition-d-automne-du-salon-d-art-contemporain-au-carrousel-du-louvre